One false result leads to firing, retesting

Published 4:53 pm, Wednesday, September 18, 2013

A Pasadena lab re-tested urine samples from 563 probationers in Comal, Hays and Caldwell counties at its own expense after one false positive test was confirmed, officials said Wednesday.

“There's no reason to suspect this is other than an isolated incident,” said Steve Harris, lab director at One Source Toxicology.

The secondary tests confirmed earlier positive results in every case except for the disputed test that was brought to the lab's attention in June, said Harris, who blamed the problem on a failure to follow lab protocols by one employee, who was fired.

“We're notifying all of the defendants whose tests came back positive since we started using this lab nearly three years ago,” said Rochelle Thomas, chief probation officer for the three-county region.